scholarly journals God's servant working for your own good: Notes from modern South Africa on Calvin's commentary on Romans 13: 1-7 and the state

1998 ◽  
Vol 54 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Strauss

This article aims at demonstrating that Calvin's grasp of the message of Romans 13 in its reference to the state is highly relevant for the present South Africa. This includes the belief that the authority of rulers is ordained by God, be it that of a just or an unjust government, and that their right to govern should therefore be respected; that government should maintain a public order of justice and peace within which people can serve God in all spheres of life; that state authorities should use the sword and even the death penalty when needed, and not shy away from this God-given responsibility; that a society in which crime threatens to create chaos needs stronger measures of punishment; and that rebellion against the government or disruption of public life should be resorted to only as an ultimate means and when carefully considered as in the general interest.

Author(s):  
Marharyta Butsan

In the article the concept of state functions, realizing which the state carries out a targeted management impact on various spheres of a public life. They show that the government should do to achieve and implement the goals and tasks that lie before him in a certain historical period. Purposes of the functions of the state are the results that must be obtained in implementing the functions, goals can be immediate, intermediate, ultimate. On one stage of historical development, priority may be given to economic, the other political or socio-cultural functions, the third function of defense, etc. At the beginning of its inception, the state played a very small list of functions. The contents of most of them was of a pronounced class character. The functions manifest national characteristics of the country, because the state is obliged to provide the geopolitical interests of the ethnic group, to support the development of national culture, language, and the like. The contents and the list of functions to a large extent depend on the nature of the state, its social purpose in public life. The main duty of the state to maintain a level of social organization that would ensure not only the preservation of the integrity and prosperity of society as a whole, but also the needs of individuals. The article studies scientific approaches with respect to interpretation of the concept of functions, given the existing classification of state functions: the areas of activities of the state, duration and the like. The analysis of existing functions in Ukraine. The human rights function is currently the most relevant. Advocacy function has the expression in activities that are aimed at protecting the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, the rule of law and the rule of law in all spheres of public and political life. The peculiarities of exercise of the functions of the state are divided into legal and organizational. The legal form is a homogenous activity of state bodies related to the adoption of legal acts. Organizational form is a homogenous activity of the state aimed at creating organizational conditions to ensure functions of the state. In Ukraine there are three main forms of implementation of the activities of the state depending on types of activities: legislative, Executive, judicial. The basis for this separation is the provision of the Constitution of Ukraine, which is highlighted in these branches of government. In the implementation of all main functions of the state are actively involved all types of public power in Ukraine.


Author(s):  
Mikhalien Du Bois

This article views section 4 of the Patents Act 57 of 1978 against section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and Article 31 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of 1994 (hereafter TRIPS). The purpose is to find a suitable framework for the state/government use/utilisation of patented products or processes for public purposes. A comparison is done with the Crown use provisions in United Kingdom, Australian and Canadian law to find a suitable approach to questions relating to remuneration for state use, the prior negotiations requirement set by Article 31 of TRIPS, and the public purposes and exclusive patent rights that would be included under state use. The COVID-19 international pandemic has caused a state of national disaster in South Africa, which is exactly the kind of situation of extreme urgency envisioned by the exception in Article 31 of TRIPS, which permits the state use of patents without requiring prior negotiations with the patent owner. In the battle against COVID-19 and its concomitant fallout, the South African government (and authorised private parties) would be permitted to utilise patent rights without explicit authorisation from the patent owner and without prior negotiations, but subject to the payment of reasonable remuneration by the government and other terms and conditions as agreed upon or as determined by a court. This may include making (manufacturing), using, exercising, and importing patented products (for example, personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals, ventilators and diagnostic tests) deemed necessary in the fight against COVID-19. Foreign jurisdictions considered in this article indicate that section 4 of the Patents Act 57 of 1978 may certainly benefit from an update to provide detailed guidance on the state use of patented products or processes for public purposes. In the interest of a timeous offensive against the COVID-19 virus, the patent provisions need a speedy update to allow state use compliant with TRIPS and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.


2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 367-370

Any interference with the protection of property had to strike a fair balance between the demands of the general interest of the community and the requirements of the protection of the individual's fundamental rights. The requisite balance would not be struck where the person concerned bore an individual and excessive burden. Where an issue in the general interest was at stake it was incumbent on the public authorities to act in an appropriate manner and with utmost consistency. In addition, the State, as the guardian of public order, had a moral obligation to lead by example and it had a duty to ensure that its organs charged with the protection of public order enforced observance of that obligation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-154
Author(s):  
Muhammed Haron

During 3-5 September 2007, scholars associated with University of Witwatersrand’sDepartment of Anthropology and key members of the Johannesburg-based Institute of French Studies in South Africa explored ways toengage South African and French scholars in forms of cooperation. Toaddress this event’s focus, “Muslim Cultures in South Africa and France,”the organizers brought along the School of Social Sciences and Humanities(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) and the Institut d’Etudesde l’Islam et des Societes du Monde Musulman (Ecole des Hautes enSciences Sociales [EHESS]) to partner with them.The theme, “Islam, Democracy, and Public Life in South Africa and inFrance,” identified three basic objectives: to re-imagine Islam as an objectof academic enquiry, explore the epistemological dimensions of the study ofIslam, and foster scientific networks. The organizers highlighted a key question:“How do Muslims employ their religion to explain and clarify theirposition and role in public life in South Africa and France?” and identifiedthree focus areas: The Status ofMinority Religions: The Case of Islam; ReligiousIdentity - Political Identity; and Trans-nationalism/regionalism.The “Southern Africa” panel, chaired by Aurelia Wa Kabwe-Segatti(French Institute of South Africa [IFAS]), consisted of Alan Thorold’s (Universityof Melbourne) “Malawi and the Revival of Sufism,” SamadiaSadouni’s (Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research [WISER])“Muslim Communities in South Africa,” Liazzat Bonate’s (Eduardo MondlaneUniversity) “Leadership of Islam in Mozambique,” and Eric Germain’s(EHESS) “Inter-ethnic Muslim Dialogue in South Africa.” Sadouni examinedsuch crucial concepts as religious minorities and extracted examplesfrom both countries. Thorold, who analyzed Sufism’s revival in Malawi,relied on the work of ErnestGellner. Some participants, however, argued thathis ideas have been surpassed by more informed theoretical scholarship.Bonate reflected upon the differences that played out within northernMozambique’s Muslim communities vis-à-vis the government. Germain,who explored early Cape Muslim social history, provocatively argued thatmuch could be learned from this community’s make-up and attitude. Asexpected, he was criticized for sketching a romantic picture.The “Media and Power” panel, chaired by Eric Worby, featured GabebaBaderoon’s (post-doctoral fellow, Penn StateUniversity’sAfricana ResearchCenter) “Islam and the Media in South Africa.” She traced how Islam ...


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesar Antonio Munthe ◽  
Paulinus Soge

Pancasila has been the state ideology of Indonesia since the day after the independence of Indonesia that is on the 18th of August 1945. It was formulated by our founding fathers by taking our own values and cultures inherited by our ancestors from some old kingdoms  such as Kutai in Kalimantan, Sriwijaya in Sumatra, and Majapahit in Java. One year after the independence  on the 17th of August 1945, Indonesian government promulgated Law No. 1 Year 1946 concerning The Penal Code on 26th  of  February 1946. Through this law the government at that time stated that Wetboek van Strafrecht voor Nederlandsch-Indie  (W.v.S. Ned. Indie (S. 1915 No. 732) as the main written penal code and was formally called  Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana (KUHP) which in Article 10 provides death penalty as the heaviest main punishment. Dealing with that provision there has been a long debate among Indonesian people whether death penalty is in accordance with Pancasila or not. Netherlands as the home base of death penalty dropped it out from its penal code in 1870 because of the strong struggle of human right proponents. In Indonesia a research carried out in 1981/1982 by The Law Faculty of Undip collaborating with the  The Supreme Court  found out that both proponents and opponents of death penalty used Pancasila as “justification”.  In the effort to give respect to both parties  legal drafters of the  Penal Code Bill provide death penalty as “specific punishment” and put it out of the main punishment  in the Penal Code Bill.Key Words: Pancasila, State ideology, Legal drafters, Specific punishment, The Penal Code Bill.


Author(s):  
David M. Doyle ◽  
Liam O’Callaghan

This chapter examines the abolition of the death penalty in Ireland. The Criminal Justice Act 1964, introduced by the Minister for Justice and staunch abolitionist Charles Haughey, removed the death penalty for all offences apart from murder committed under certain circumstances. Among these was murder of an on-duty member of the Garda Síochána, who, the government decided, warranted the additional protection assumed to be afforded them by the death penalty. The legislation was grounded in lingering fears, as old as the state itself, about anti-state subversive activities, mainly those likely to be carried out by the IRA. In light of this, the chapter compares the abolition experiences of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. That the death penalty was a dubious deterrent under the southern legislation was proven by a spate of garda murders (and resultant death sentences) in the 1970s and 1980s perpetrated by individuals specifically targeted by the 1964 Act. The potency of the 1964 Act was also undermined by the singular unwillingness of any Irish government even consider confirming a death sentence, especially in light of the abolitionist consensus among western European governments.


1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Ronald Weitzer ◽  
John D. Brewer ◽  
Adrian Guelke ◽  
Ian Hume ◽  
Edward Moxon-Browne ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Apri Rotin Djusfi

Based on Pasal 18 Paragraph (2) of 1945 Constitution states that "the government of province and district / city set up and manages their own affairs in accordance with the principle of autonomy and duty of assistance". Then it was mentioned in Article 18B Paragraph (1) and Paragraph (2) which states that the State shall recognize and respect the units of local government which is special and privileged, and respect the customary law community unit along with their traditional rights.Tuha Peut institution is one of the traditional institutions in Acehnese society which has the authority to maintain the existence of customary law for generations. Constituent on the Governing of Aceh mandates that the resolution of social problems customarily taken through traditional institutions. Whereas, traditional institutions have function and act as a vehicle for public participation in the implementation of the Aceh Government and district / city governments in the field of peacefullness, tranquility, harmony, and public order. Keywords: Tuha Peut, Traditional Institutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 52-63
Author(s):  
Alexander B. Joy ◽  

Are we just the sum of our memories? Is erasing all the memories of a person more, or less humane, than the death penalty? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, a member of the diplomatic corps recounts the history of Etescanate people and the evolution of their implantation of the death penalty over the centuries. Initially, the death penalty was a drawn out, painful and public affair. As time progressed, it remained public, but became more humane. With the advent of new technologies, it was moved indoors as a private affair where electrical shocks or injections were used. Now, the Etescanate people believe they have found the most humane form of capital punishment, complete memory erasure. Those that are found guilty of the most serious crimes are given a chemical cocktail that completely erases their minds of their entire past. There is one caveat to this punishment, while the government has outlawed killing by the state, it still leaves open the possibility of killing by others and, in some cases, the convicted opt to be killed privately instead.


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